By
TBY
| US | Feb 20, 2019
The value of the global video game market, at nearly USD138 billion in 2018, is expected to climb to USD180 billion by 2022.
A young gamer playing a video game wearing headphones. sezer66/Shutterstock
With the near ubiquitous availability of computer consoles and mobile devices around the world today, it would seem that outdoor games are out and indoor games are in.
Since 1972, when Atari introduced “Pong,” video games have become an increasingly popular way to spend leisure time.
The 1998 release of the game “Snake” on phones by Finnish telecoms giant Nokia transformed the industry, and paved today for the popularity of mobile gaming seen today.
By 2009 motion sensing technology in consoles such as Microsoft Kinect and the Sony PlayStation Move brought a new level of interactivity to the format.
Today, the gaming industry is an essential component of the entertainment sector, and its enduring commerciality is seen as an exciting prospect for many investors.
With annual revenues now rivaling Hollywood and the film industry, digital gaming is forging ahead in a seemingly unstoppable fashion.
Statistics suggest the true economic promise of the gaming sector.
According to SuperData, Fortnite was the most financially successful game in 2018, netting a total of USD2.4 billion over the course of the year.
Nexon’s Dungeon Fighter Online earned USD1.5 billion, the highest after Fortnite.
The head of Fortnite, Tim Sweeney, has entered the list of richest people in the world with a fortune valued at USD7 billion.
Sweeney, who ranks 212th in Bloomberg’s world’s rich list, is the founder of Epic Games, who developed the now-famous “Unreal Engine” which forms the structural basis of Fortnite.
Fortnite was played by over 200 million players in 2018, and the number of active digital video gamers is expected to grow to 2.73 billion by 2021.
In the US alone, 64% of the population are gamers.
With a CAGR of 5.8 percent according to one source, the global gaming industry is on course to expand.
As it stands, three major firms dominate the industry at present, namely Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
But with technology changing at such a rapid pace, 2019 could see yet more billionaires make their fortunes in the digital gaming market.
With innovation and competition, the industry is set to retain its place of primacy in the entertainment sector, contributing considerably to economies and finding a place in the hearts of gamers the world over.
